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2006 DIGILAW 184 (CAL)

Golap Mustafa Taradar v. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

2006-03-23

JAYANTA KUMAR BISWAS

body2006
Judgment :- (1) THE seven petitioners in this writ petition are questioning the decision of the Sub-Divisional Controller, Food and supplies, Bishnupur (Bankura) dated December 1, 2005 rejecting their request to open a modified ration shop at Alipur-Bartala of Patrasayer. (2) AS villagers of the locality, they approached the authorities of the food and supplies department requesting them to open a modified ration shop somewhere in the village so that the villagers might collect their rationed articles without subjecting themselves to the regular harassment of walking around three kilometers for collecting such articles from the dealer running his shop in Betur. (3) ALLEGING inaction on the part of the authorities they moved this Court by filing a writ petition. By order dated November 21,2005 that writ petition was disposed of directing the competent authority to give a reasoned decision. This is how the impugned decision has come to be given. (4) I fully agree with counsel for the respondents that filing of such writ petition amounts to abuse of process of the Court. It is not a public interest litigation. The petitioners have no legally enforceable right, in so far as the question of opening a modified ration shop in the village is concerned. They are not seeking enforcement of any statutory obligation or duty of any of the authorities. None of the authorities is under any statutory obligation or duty to open a modified ration shop at any part of the village in which the petitioners reside. (5) QUESTION of opening a ration shop is essentially dependent on an administrative decision to be taken principally in public interest. Whether public interest warrants such a step is to be decided by the executive and the other authorities. The writ Court (when it is not dealing with a public interest litigation) is not supposed to express any view in such matter. It cannot make an order either directing the authority to open a ration shop at any particular place of any village or locality. (6) IN this case the competent authority closely examined the matter. He held that there was absolutely no reason to open a ration shop at any part of the village in which the petitioners reside. He recorded that from 1974 the villagers were regularly collecting their rationed articles from the dealer running his ration shop from Betur. (6) IN this case the competent authority closely examined the matter. He held that there was absolutely no reason to open a ration shop at any part of the village in which the petitioners reside. He recorded that from 1974 the villagers were regularly collecting their rationed articles from the dealer running his ration shop from Betur. He noted that the distance the villagers were to cover was negligible in the rural area. He noticed the moderate number of ration cards tagged with the dealer concerned. (7) FOR these reasons the writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no order for costs in it. (8) COPY of this order duly authenticated by A. R. (C) or A. C. O. shall be given to advocates for the parties, on usual undertakings. (9) URGENT certified xerox copy of this order shall be supplied to the parties, if applied for. Petition dismissed.